An Oregon family is devastated after a tragic accident took the life of their toddler. Tiffany Hebb was doing laundry, while her 21-month-old Ollie kept her company. When she left the room briefly, he crawled into the washing machine and drowned.

A frantic Hebb found her son minutes later trapped in the water-filled basin and tried desperately to resuscitate him. After suffering severe brain damage, he died the following day in the hospital.

"It was the worst day of my life," the grieving mother told a local Fox affiliate through tears. Now Tiffany and her husband Chris are on a mission to educate parents about the dangers of the seemingly innocuous household appliance.

"I want to make mothers and fathers aware that it's a possibility," she said.

Between 2005 and 2009, two children under the age of five lost their lives in laundry room accidents, according to a report by the Consumer Product Safety Commision. In a 2003 review, two deaths and an estimated 500 other injuries to children were attributed to washing machine-related accidents. Most kids were between the ages of 1 and 2, and fell victim to a range of injuries including fractures, amputations and even drowning.

Some of potential washing machine hazards, according to the report:

Drowning after getting locked inside the machine

Injuries jumping or falling off the top of the machine

Heated water from the machine causing burns

Getting limbs caught in the motorized spinning basin

The biggest problem when the CPSC conducted their review back in 2003, is still a problem now: lack of education. The report at the time acknowledged that more public education is needed so parents can prevent these kinds of injuries. Ever the vigilant mother, Hebb spent the first year of her son's life guarding him from every household danger she was warned about. She said she never expected the washer would be the biggest threat.

Despite improved safety functions on automatic washing machines, the best prevention from injury is keeping kids far away from the laundry room altogether. (Even if the washing machine is avoided, the scalding hot dryer can be just as dangerous.) Unfortunately many parents aren't aware of the risks.

"Believe it or not, a small child can drown in as little as an inch or two of water," warns Home Safety Council's Mary Kay Appy in a safety video featured on Good Housekeeping. "They're top heavy -- their head goes into the bucket but they don't have the upper body strength to pull themselves out."

Appy encourages parents to invest in washers and dryers with built-in child safety locks. Another safety measure: install locks or child safety knobs to the laundry room door. A little extra child-proofing could save a life.

**** I am sad for the family, but at the same time I am wondering how in the world the child was able to get into the washing machine and drown while the mother was "briefly" reading a magazine in the other room. It just seems like common sense that you need to watch a small child. Shouldn't she have heard the kid getting into the machine? It's not exactly easy for a toddler to climb up on top of a washing machine without making a lot of noise. What do you think? Was it neglect? Is the mom hiding something?

I don't know how to add a link...so if this doesn't work I copy and pasted the article. I will add my comments at the end.

An Oregon family is devastated after a tragic accident took the life of their toddler. Tiffany Hebb was doing laundry, while her 21-month-old Ollie kept her company. When she left the room briefly, he crawled into the washing machine and drowned.

A frantic Hebb found her son minutes later trapped in the water-filled basin and tried desperately to resuscitate him. After suffering severe brain damage, he died the following day in the hospital.

"It was the worst day of my life," the grieving mother told a local Fox affiliate through tears. Now Tiffany and her husband Chris are on a mission to educate parents about the dangers of the seemingly innocuous household appliance.

"I want to make mothers and fathers aware that it's a possibility," she said.

Between 2005 and 2009, two children under the age of five lost their lives in laundry room accidents, according to a report by the Consumer Product Safety Commision. In a 2003 review, two deaths and an estimated 500 other injuries to children were attributed to washing machine-related accidents. Most kids were between the ages of 1 and 2, and fell victim to a range of injuries including fractures, amputations and even drowning.

Some of potential washing machine hazards, according to the report:

Drowning after getting locked inside the machine

Injuries jumping or falling off the top of the machine

Heated water from the machine causing burns

Getting limbs caught in the motorized spinning basin

The biggest problem when the CPSC conducted their review back in 2003, is still a problem now: lack of education. The report at the time acknowledged that more public education is needed so parents can prevent these kinds of injuries. Ever the vigilant mother, Hebb spent the first year of her son's life guarding him from every household danger she was warned about. She said she never expected the washer would be the biggest threat.

Despite improved safety functions on automatic washing machines, the best prevention from injury is keeping kids far away from the laundry room altogether. (Even if the washing machine is avoided, the scalding hot dryer can be just as dangerous.) Unfortunately many parents aren't aware of the risks.

"Believe it or not, a small child can drown in as little as an inch or two of water," warns Home Safety Council's Mary Kay Appy in a safety video featured on Good Housekeeping. "They're top heavy -- their head goes into the bucket but they don't have the upper body strength to pull themselves out."

Appy encourages parents to invest in washers and dryers with built-in child safety locks. Another safety measure: install locks or child safety knobs to the laundry room door. A little extra child-proofing could save a life.

**** I am sad for the family, but at the same time I am wondering how in the world the child was able to get into the washing machine and drown while the mother was "briefly" reading a magazine in the other room. It just seems like common sense that you need to watch a small child. Shouldn't she have heard the kid getting into the machine? It's not exactly easy for a toddler to climb up on top of a washing machine without making a lot of noise. What do you think? Was it neglect? Is the mom hiding something?

Very sad and unfortunate. Accidents happen. It could have been a different kind of washer it where he wouldn't have to climb anything. In my laundry room the washer looks like a dryer and once you close the door it locks until done.

Very sad and unfortunate. Accidents happen. It could have been a different kind of washer it where he wouldn't have to climb anything. In my laundry room the washer looks like a dryer and once you close the door it locks until done.

Now Tiffany and her husband Chris are on a mission to educate parents about the dangers of the seemingly innocuous household appliance

I don't think we need to educate parents on commonsense. Maybe I came from an over protective family, but I don't even leave buckets of cleaning water unattended. I can hear my mother in my ears "a child can drowned in an inch of water" Quite the exaggeration, but isn't this something we all know?

Now Tiffany and her husband Chris are on a mission to educate parents about the dangers of the seemingly innocuous household appliance

I don't think we need to educate parents on commonsense. Maybe I came from an over protective family, but I don't even leave buckets of cleaning water unattended. I can hear my mother in my ears "a child can drowned in an inch of water" Quite the exaggeration, but isn't this something we all know?

i was a nanny for years and never let a child near me with water...mopping cleaning....i did this while they took naps.....and even i gave baths i did all needs ie clothes towels etc before i even touched the tub....and having children now i still take alot of the precautions and sooo glad i do.

i was a nanny for years and never let a child near me with water...mopping cleaning....i did this while they took naps.....and even i gave baths i did all needs ie clothes towels etc before i even touched the tub....and having children now i still take alot of the precautions and sooo glad i do.

Hmm, maybe I am paranoid or over protective then. I don't think I need a reminder that leaving a toddler in the laundry room is a dumb move. To me its the same as leaving them in the tub for just a moment. Stupid. Not saying this mother should be charged with anything, but what she did was a really idiotic move. She will live with that for the rest of her life now.

Hmm, maybe I am paranoid or over protective then. I don't think I need a reminder that leaving a toddler in the laundry room is a dumb move. To me its the same as leaving them in the tub for just a moment. Stupid. Not saying this mother should be charged with anything, but what she did was a really idiotic move. She will live with that for the rest of her life now.

In general with a kid under three, if you don't have eyes on them for a full minute or know exactly where they are, you need to go get them. This is why. It's not full on neglect to me, but it certainly was being lax in supervising her child.

In general with a kid under three, if you don't have eyes on them for a full minute or know exactly where they are, you need to go get them. This is why. It's not full on neglect to me, but it certainly was being lax in supervising her child.

You guys are saying "leaving a child in the laundry room" like this child wasn't ambulatory.

She was almost 2 years old! And I don't know about YOUR 2 yo's (if you even have any) but mine can get into $hit quicker than anything I've ever seen...and all without making a peep! Hell, when my kids get QUIET is when I know to go looking for them to see what they've gotten into.

And that old style washing machine, a 2yo could climb up onto a basket, lift the lid and fall head first into it without hardly making a sound. 2 minutes. That's all it takes for that baby to drown.

Are there precautions we can take?? Absolutely. But when a tragedy like this does happen, I don't think anything is gained by making the parents feel even $hittier than they already do.

You guys are saying "leaving a child in the laundry room" like this child wasn't ambulatory.

She was almost 2 years old! And I don't know about YOUR 2 yo's (if you even have any) but mine can get into $hit quicker than anything I've ever seen...and all without making a peep! Hell, when my kids get QUIET is when I know to go looking for them to see what they've gotten into.

And that old style washing machine, a 2yo could climb up onto a basket, lift the lid and fall head first into it without hardly making a sound. 2 minutes. That's all it takes for that baby to drown.

Agree with MyGodI'mTired. This was a terrible accident, but it could have happened to (almost) anyone. A reminder that we need to all keep a closer eye on our kids? Yes. Neglect? Not from the information we have now. Also--terrible as it is that this happened--it's worth keeping in mind that there have only been 2 such deaths from 2005 to 2008. More children have died from lightening strikes. Far more have died from car accidents. The chance of anything like this happening to any particular family is vanishingly small. Doesn't make it less terrible if it does happen, but statistically, it's very unlikely.

Agree with MyGodI'mTired. This was a terrible accident, but it could have happened to (almost) anyone. A reminder that we need to all keep a closer eye on our kids? Yes. Neglect? Not from the information we have now. Also--terrible as it is that this happened--it's worth keeping in mind that there have only been 2 such deaths from 2005 to 2008. More children have died from lightening strikes. Far more have died from car accidents. The chance of anything like this happening to any particular family is vanishingly small. Doesn't make it less terrible if it does happen, but statistically, it's very unlikely.

Seriously? This makes it seem like it was some unforeseen unpreventable accident! She left the room to read something and that's fine, I've done similar things, but I'm NEVER so distracted by reading something that I wouldn't notice my DD going into an area that, according to common sense, should always be blocked! While she was reading her son managed to climb onto a storage tub and fall into the OPEN drum while the machine was running. In the experiences of my entire family those machines have a plunger to prevent them from running while open. she had to have taped it down or disabled that safety feature because she admitted to authorities that she always leaves the machine open while running. If you're going to be doing something hazardous like leaving a huge dangerously spinning tub of water accessible then put up a $20 baby gate to protect your child! This subject fires me up because I feel she's culpable for the death and should be charged with at least child endangerment if not negligent homicide! I will follow up with the story that ran locally

Seriously? This makes it seem like it was some unforeseen unpreventable accident! She left the room to read something and that's fine, I've done similar things, but I'm NEVER so distracted by reading something that I wouldn't notice my DD going into an area that, according to common sense, should always be blocked! While she was reading her son managed to climb onto a storage tub and fall into the OPEN drum while the machine was running. In the experiences of my entire family those machines have a plunger to prevent them from running while open. she had to have taped it down or disabled that safety feature because she admitted to authorities that she always leaves the machine open while running. If you're going to be doing something hazardous like leaving a huge dangerously spinning tub of water accessible then put up a $20 baby gate to protect your child! This subject fires me up because I feel she's culpable for the death and should be charged with at least child endangerment if not negligent homicide! I will follow up with the story that ran locally

If she really did leave the lid up while the machine was up, that is extremely irresponsible. And yes, accidents can happen to anyone, but when my kids were small, there were gates in front of the bathrooms and laundry room. They would never have been in those rooms without me. I don't think parents need to be educated on the dangers of a washing machine. I know very well a child can drown in a washer, toilet, tub etc.

If she really did leave the lid up while the machine was up, that is extremely irresponsible. And yes, accidents can happen to anyone, but when my kids were small, there were gates in front of the bathrooms and laundry room. They would never have been in those rooms without me. I don't think parents need to be educated on the dangers of a washing machine. I know very well a child can drown in a washer, toilet, tub etc.

I don't know what the situation was, but a parent cannot leave a child unattended for even a second. Letting your guard down can make the difference between life and death, as this poor mother found out.

I don't know what the situation was, but a parent cannot leave a child unattended for even a second. Letting your guard down can make the difference between life and death, as this poor mother found out.

I have them, too, so I was just going to say same the same thing lol now, if the child had an older sibling who can put them in there and start the darn thing, then there will most likely be a drowning.

I have them, too, so I was just going to say same the same thing lol now, if the child had an older sibling who can put them in there and start the darn thing, then there will most likely be a drowning.

The parents of a 1-year-old boy
who drowned in a washing machine last month are warning others about the
hidden danger of the household appliance.

Chris
and Tiffany Hebb spoke with Salt Lake City affiliate KSL about the
tragedy. The couple, that now lives in Hillsboro, returned to Utah to
bury their son, Ollie.

The toddler's mother said the 21-month-old always liked to help her do laundry.

"I was just at home, doing my laundry like I always do with my little boy," said Tiffany Hebb.

Officers
said the accident happened March 23 while the boy's mother was in the
living room of her home, looking at a magazine while doing the laundry.
Police said the boy climbed on top of a tub that was stacked next to the
machine and then fell while it was running.

"I
walked around through my whole house, calling his name and couldn't
find him anywhere," said Tiffany. "And then I put my hands in the washer
and felt his little body. Worst day of my life."

Neighbors
rushed over when they heard Hebb screaming. They were able to get the
boy breathing again after performing CPR. By the time doctors at OHSU
were able to step in, it was too late. Ollie was taken off life support a
day later.

"Obviously it's really hard to
see your little boy's body on the table, wishing that he was going to
come home with you," said Chris Hebb.

Police
said Tiffany always did laundry by leaving the lid up while the machine
operates. However, they said she was distracted and didn't notice her
son had found his way into the room.

"I
just want to make mothers and fathers aware that it's a possibility. I
never, even after it happened, it still didn't seem real,"said Tiffany.

Police say Ollie's parents will not face charges since his death appears to be accidental.

The parents of a 1-year-old boy
who drowned in a washing machine last month are warning others about the
hidden danger of the household appliance.

Chris
and Tiffany Hebb spoke with Salt Lake City affiliate KSL about the
tragedy. The couple, that now lives in Hillsboro, returned to Utah to
bury their son, Ollie.

The toddler's mother said the 21-month-old always liked to help her do laundry.

"I was just at home, doing my laundry like I always do with my little boy," said Tiffany Hebb.

Officers
said the accident happened March 23 while the boy's mother was in the
living room of her home, looking at a magazine while doing the laundry.
Police said the boy climbed on top of a tub that was stacked next to the
machine and then fell while it was running.

"I
walked around through my whole house, calling his name and couldn't
find him anywhere," said Tiffany. "And then I put my hands in the washer
and felt his little body. Worst day of my life."

Neighbors
rushed over when they heard Hebb screaming. They were able to get the
boy breathing again after performing CPR. By the time doctors at OHSU
were able to step in, it was too late. Ollie was taken off life support a
day later.

"Obviously it's really hard to
see your little boy's body on the table, wishing that he was going to
come home with you," said Chris Hebb.

Police
said Tiffany always did laundry by leaving the lid up while the machine
operates. However, they said she was distracted and didn't notice her
son had found his way into the room.

"I
just want to make mothers and fathers aware that it's a possibility. I
never, even after it happened, it still didn't seem real,"said Tiffany.

Police say Ollie's parents will not face charges since his death appears to be accidental.

The material on this website is provided for educational purposes only and is not to be used for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, or in place of therapy or medical care. Use of this site is subject to our terms of use and privacy policy

Advertising Notice

This Site and third parties who place advertisements on this Site may collect and use information about your visits to this Site and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like to obtain more information about these advertising practices and to make choices about online behavioral advertising, please click here